The negotiators are getting worse out there

Are you freakin’ kidding me? The Iowa one may take the cake.

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The constant hustle I get is ‘treat me well and I will write it swell’. No less than once a week, I get ‘an inquiry’ from a ‘writer’, who wants to come to the island (for free of course) in exchange to do an article for it, with his entourage of course. At first I fell for these, in one the ‘production manager’ turned out to be a well-packed bimbo that spend 3 free days lounging and doing her nails.

Yesterday’s was a funny one. He told me he can get it on the Travel Channel, I told him we are already on the Travel Channel (actually the guests that just arrived two days ago told us about it, I didn’t even know).

(crickets)

P.S. The Iowa one is a classic.

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I want to see it on the Travel Channel. Tell us more!!

Almost all of my guests are American, so in my case yes. In another thread yesterday, I posted a recent inquiry asking for a discount - he wanted 3 days, and could I offer a discount because his kids were small, and if the discount was good enough…he might take 4 days. That one really made me chuckle. He was from Saudi Arabia…and I think he got some really bad advice from an American friend. And you could tell English was not his native language…so it came across even more funny.

Most Americans would never even think about negotiating the price of a hotel room, but they attempt to with vacation rentals.

It was on TV, they told me quite impressed. When I pick them up in 3 days will find out when/where. It was on last week, something about ‘best islands for rent throughout the world’. I never watch TV, no wonder I would never know about these things.

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Good point, must be the informality of personal-hosting.

Actually, that is not the case. I worked in hotels for years and though guests didn’t exactly ask for a discount, they tried their best to manipulate the hotel staff. From the moment some people arrive, they try to wrangle some free drink coupons, a room upgrade, a view that should cost more, while not paying more to the hotel. These strategies are in actual fact, trying to get a discount. Heck, there are entire web communities devoted to sharing ways to get free stuff in hotels.

Completely agree - they will try to manipulate staff, but for some reason they won’t directly ask for a discount at a hotel. Or at least not many will. I wonder if it is because it’s difficult for them to ask directly face to face. So instead they just start complaining.

Or try to negotiate a discount since the room is “small”, “loud”, not close enough to the ice maker, too close to the ice maker, etc etc etc. Very tiresome. One grew an extra thick skin very quickly.

Oh yes…and you’re right about how the web communities advise all this crap.

This is a whole 'nother topic, but what you say is true.

When I stay at the Omni I have a loyalty card which provides upgraded features, free nights after a certain amount of stays, and other perks. I had 2 accumulated free nights once and my husband turned 40. We decided to go out of town and stay at the Omni. You bet I called them and made a real point of mentioning his birthday, but I didn’t specifically ask for any perks. When I got there we had been upgraded to a suite on the top floor and they brought us some cupcakes that said Happy Birthday. It’s worth it for the hotel to do this because in order to “earn” the free nights I think I stayed 40 nights already (for work, thank god).

Since almost every business these days offers perks to card holders, people that sign up on the website, and other loyalty programs, it’s no surprise that everyone thinks they can ask for extras. But in order to “earn” the extras you actually have to outlay quite a bit of money upfront.

Maybe we should be telling our guests, “after you stay 40 nights I will give you one free!”

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I did a quick Google for “non-profit ocean research Iowa” and got nothing.

Even if I wanted to donate to their ocean non profit and let them stay for free there is literally no way to do it on Air. I should go dig that one up and post the non profit here for everyone’s amusement.

Maybe it was Montana. Forget the state. Some landlocked one. :smile:

Now I need to go through my inbox and find it!

How did Travel Channel find it and then film or discuss it without notifying you?

The $20 trick in Vegas :wink:

Sorry my bad… it was Montana. And they were doing a film and wanted free lodging for that right in my peak season, eye roll. I reported them.

See below:

Aloha !
My name is GXXX and in addition to being an Air BnB host myself, I am also the Exec Director of the newly established non-profit org, the Ocean Media Institute (oce(URL HIDDEN) based in (believe it or not) Bozeman, MT! OMI is a global media collective made up of filmmakers, artists, writers, and scientists and serves to enrich and expand the public’s understanding of ocean issues through the collaborative creation, exhibition, and distribution of innovative visual media as well as artistic approaches to ocean education. My colleague Jxx and I are coming to the Big Island for the Waimea Film Festival and staying on to do some filming for a new interactive campaign called “I Am Ocean” which highlights the world’s oceans through short video postcards of the people whose lives are tied to each ebb and flow. We’ll be visiting schools and interviewing people from the community. It’s a way for people to learn about the world’s oceans by connecting across the sea and across cultures. We are currently seeking sponsors for the project and reaching out to the Kona community. We are wondering if you may be interested in supporting this campaign by offering lodging to us while we work. I will have return to Montana on Jan 11, but Jxx will be staying on for an extra week to gather additional footage and conduct additional interviews. He is quiet and will be out filming most of the days, so a very low maintenance guest! :slight_smile: We would be happy to promote you and your lovely property on our website and through our vast partner network and as we are a 501(c)3 organization, we can provide you with an in-kind donation receipt for your tax purposes. The dates we are looking at are from Jan 11 - 18. Let me know what you think!
Thanks so much,
Gxxx
Nov 16, 2015

My answer:

Sorry…great idea, but not possible to offer free lodging. Reach out to hotels maybe? This is peak travel time for us here and I can’t give away lodging.
Nov 16, 2015

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No clue, they never filmed it; maybe used film done by others. I am constantly asked for permission to use our pictures, always say yes and forget about it. Recently, a french fellow brought a copy of the main Paris paper, and had an article on it on the island on the front page, have no clue where/how hey got the information; he was all excited, I just shrugged and kept eating my hamburger. LoL

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Really, it’s like opening up your wallet and handing them a thousand dollars.

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I know…!!! Is it me or is that gutsy? Ask a hotel. Everyone’s booked solid during that time. I wouldn’t even let family stay for free during the peak time.

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